


Remember Me

by alluringdreams



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Abuse, Amnesia, Angst, Eventual Romance, Explosions, F/M, Fluff, Hurt Betty Cooper, Hurt Jughead Jones, Jealous Jughead Jones, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Love, Love Triangles, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mystery, Protective Jughead Jones, Slow Burn, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-11-28 13:15:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18208793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alluringdreams/pseuds/alluringdreams
Summary: A tragic accident causes Betty to lose her memories.  She doesn't remember Archie, Veronica, or Kevin—and Jughead is a complete stranger to her.  But they soon discover it was hardly an "accident."  Someone is using her—filling her head with false memories, and convincing her that her friends are actually her enemies.If they don't move fast enough, Betty will be falling for the wrong guy.OR,“You and me—Betty, we're meant to be together...You don't remember?"  Jughead has to make Betty fall in love with him all over again—but how, when she's convinced she hates him?





	1. A Special Night

The past 48 hours had Jughead _reeling_ with so many emotions.

Sighing in frustration, Judged shifted in the uncomfortable hospital chair so that he leaned forward on his knees, resting his head on the bed in front of him. Betty's bed.

A badly bruised cheek and a split lip indicated that she was recently abused. She was unresponsive to any and all treatment, and wasn't showing signs of waking up.

He clenched his fists angrily, blaming himself. If she hadn't insisted on leaving their hotel room at the Four Seasons, then Betty would be fine. _I should have went with her_ , he thought. He could have prevented all of this.

48 hours ago, they were happy. Jughead had just asked her to be his Serpent Queen, and everything was perfect...for a few moments. Given their luck, they should have known everything was destined to go to shit.

* * *

_[Flashback—48 hours ago]_

"Now that I am Serpent King, I was wondering how you felt about being my Serpent Queen," Jughead said, smiling down at Betty and softly stroking her hair.

She returned his smile. "Are you asking me to join the Serpents, Jug?"

"Sort of…"

" _Jug_ …" Betty sat up quickly and looked at him, realizing the seriousness of his question. Jughead put so much effort into keeping her separate from his Serpent life. She was speechless and overwhelmed with shock and joy.

"You don't have to answer right now. You can take your time, let me know," he said. Feigning to think about it, he added, "Like…tomorrow at lunch, or—"

Betty laughed, jumped into his lap, and interrupted him with a deep kiss that silently screamed _YES, of course!_

It was a foolish question, asked between two young people in love.

After a few long seconds Betty pulled away and curiously asked, "Why the change of heart?"

Jughead pondered his answer for a few moments before looking at her thoughtfully. "You and I…we're a team—"

"A good team," Betty corrected.

Jughead just grinned at her and agreed. "A _great_ team. We've always been a great team. It doesn't make sense anymore to keep you separated from parts of my life, and...I'm tired of things getting between us. I just want you by my side, Betty." The mood shifted to something more serious as Jughead said quietly, "And although it would be so _incredible_ to have you join the Serpents, I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

"Oh Juggie..." Betty wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him in the eyes with confidence. "Jug, we've been through all sorts of hell together. And to end up here—at the Four Seasons, of all places? It's surreal. It's proof that _nothing_ can bring us down, Juggie." She kissed him—once, twice, three times—and gently repositioned them so she could rest her head on his chest.

Jughead smiled at her words and held her tightly against him. He was certain that Betty wasn't something he wanted, but something he _needed_. Moments like these showed him how perfectly well they worked together. When his thoughts started to spiral into a pessimistic void, Betty's optimism and positivity always pulled him back. And whenever the roles reversed, Jughead always did the same for Betty.

They balanced each other, like two sides of the same coin—one incomplete without the other.

After a few moments, Betty mumbled into his chest, "Does this mean I get my own jacket?" He chuckled, and she added, "Don't laugh at me! I'm serious!" She lightly smacked him with her hand but failed to cover her own laughter.

"What kind of king would I be if I made you Serpent Queen without a jacket?" he said with a smirk. "Besides, I've already taken care of it."

Betty was taken by surprise yet again. "What do you mean?" she asked doubtfully.

"I mean…you _may or may_ _not_ have one ready for you back at the Whyte Wyrm."

"Jughead Jones!" she exclaimed, grinning for what was probably the millionth time that evening. "You are just full of surprises tonight, aren't you?"

"I'm not quite finished," he said, sitting up. She looked at him quizzically, and wrapped the bedsheets around her body as she righted herself against the backboard. "After everything we've been through this week—" he paused to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching down to pull out an expensive looking bottle of champagne. "I thought we could make this night a little extra special."

Betty let out an excited laugh. "Did Veronica tell you to pack the bubbly?"

"She may have dropped a few hints," he admitted sheepishly. "And by a few, I mean like a _million."_

"Naturally," Betty replied with a grin. She made a mental note to thank Veronica for the idea later. Betty moved forward to sit next to him on the edge of the bed, and kissed him swiftly. "How about you sit back and relax while I go grab some ice for the champagne?"

Jughead set the bottle aside and leaned back into her. In between soft kisses, he said, "Okay...but hurry back. We have some unfinished business here."

She giggled softly and kissed him in response, deepening the kiss only for a few extra moments. His tongue slid sweetly over hers, but Betty forced herself to break away, causing an unhappy growl from Jughead. "Sorry," she said with an apologetic smile, "but if I don't go now, I won't be able to stop."

"Then don't stop," he replied simply, "I think we have time for _round two."_ He placed his hand on the back of her neck, ready to pull her in for another kiss.

As tempting as round two sounded, Betty stopped him again, this time gently pushing a hand against his chest. Laughing at his persistence, she said, "Juggie, this will literally only take me two minutes. The ice machine is just down the hall. Can you wait _two small minutes_ for me?"

With a long sigh, he picked up her hand and brought it to his lips for a sweet little kiss. "I'll always wait for you, Betts," he said to her quietly, and she smiled when he gently squeezed her hand.

She grabbed Jughead's t-shirt off the floor—the black one with his signature _S—_ and her pair of shorts she found thrown across the room. After picking up her bra and underwear from one of the lampshades, Betty dressed herself and silently laughed, recalling the crazy events that happened earlier in this hotel room.

"That blush you're wearing suggests anything but innocent thoughts, Cooper," Jughead called out cheekily.

Betty tried to suppress her grin, but didn't deny the truth. Sex with Jughead was _far_ from innocent. No doubt in her mind that her face was as red as a firetruck right now.

Nevertheless, she stood in front of where he sat on the bed. "Oh, Jughead," she said with a rather amused expression, "After the wild night we just had, what makes you think I'll ever have innocent thoughts about you ever again?"

Jughead smirked. "Touché. I could say the same, you know."

"I know," Betty said with a wink, slipping on her flip flops and grabbing the ice bucket.

"Oh, and Betty?" She had just cracked the door open when Jughead called her name.

"Yeah?" she asked, stopped in the doorway.

" _You look great in my shirt_."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Thanks, I'll wear it more," she replied sarcastically.

"Wait, really?!" Jughead called hopefully, but she had already disappeared into the hallway. He sighed and fell back onto the bed, closing his eyes. "I'm _so_ damn lucky," he said to himself.  Betty Cooper, the most beautiful girl in the world, was all his.  And in this moment, all they had to worry about…was nothing.  For once in a long time, everything was okay.  He and Betty could just focus on themselves.  They could just… _be._ Together.

His phone rang from the bedside table and he saw Toni's name flash on the screen. "Hey Toni," Jughead greeted.

"So?! How'd it go?!" Toni asked excitedly. "What did she say? Did she say yes?"

"Yeah, she actually agreed," Jughead replied, and he laughed at how _perfect_ this situation was. "She's in."

"YES! I KNEW IT!" Toni's shrieks of delight were joined by someone else's voice in the background.

"I don't know why you took so long to ask her, Jughead," Cheryl mused. "I mean it's not a _proposal_ , right?"

"And hello to you too, Cheryl," Jughead said sarcastically.

Cheryl ignored Jughead's greeting completely. "Now, about her jacket. And yes, I saw it—did you really think you could hide it from me? Are you sure you want to give it to her like _this?"_

Jughead frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

" _What's wrong?_ " she screeched, and Jughead immediately pulled the phone about a foot away from his ear. " _This thing is a crime against_ _fashion_ , _you hobo_!"

"Cheryl—"

" _What Cheryl is trying to say,"_ Toni cut in, "is that maybe Betty's jacket should be a little more…special? You know, maybe instead of sticking with classic black leather, we could make it more colorful. Like Cheryl's."

"But not red," Cheryl interrupted, with a scoff. "She definitely can't pull off red like _moi_."

"What's her favorite color, Jug?" Toni asked. "Cheryl and I can take care of it for you."

"Uh…" Jughead actually didn't know. Betty looked good in everything.

"You know what, it's fine. Put Betty on the phone. We'll figure this out," Toni said confidently.

At this, Jughead quickly dropped the phone into his lap and glanced around. He just realized he had been on the phone for nearly ten minutes. Definitely over two minutes.

"Jughead? You still there?" Toni's voice sounded from his cell. He picked it back up.

"Something's not right. Betty isn't back yet," Jughead mumbled, jumping out of bed. He switched it to speakerphone and threw on some sweats and one of his other _S_ t-shirts.

"It's the Four Seasons, Jughead, why are the two of you even out of bed?" Cheryl asked with a laugh.

"She went to get ice from down the hall almost ten minutes ago. I'm going to check on her," he said.

"Wait, Jughead—"

"Ice shouldn't take ten minutes," Jughead insisted.

"I agree, but just keep us on the line, okay? Until you find her. And don't stress, she's probably just having a hard time with the machine or something," Toni explained. She was trying to comfort her friend, but in reality Toni shared a uneasy look with Cheryl.

Jughead just replied with a mumbled "Uh huh" and stepped outside of their hotel room.

The hallway was dead silent. Empty. He proceeded carefully down the hall and then brought his cell up to his ear. "I don't see or hear anything."

"Jughead, do you want us to come over?" Toni asked hesitantly, but Jughead couldn't reply. He was definitely concerned now, seeing no sign of Betty. He approached the ice room door, and every possible bad scenario started to play in his head.

Placing his phone in his pocket and muffling the voices of Toni and Cheryl, he pulled out his pocketknife and mentally tried to prepare himself. Jughead paused at the entrance to the ice room and pressed his ear to the door. _Nothing._ Not a single sound.

He turned the knob quietly.

He pushed the door open _slowly_ …

And shit hit the fan.

A deafening _BOOM!_ resonated through Jughead's entire body, sending him flying down the hall and crashing to the floor. His head hit the ground painfully and things went black for a few seconds.

Toni and Cheryl's panicked voices echoed slightly in the air, but all Jughead could do was moan from the excruciating pain. He had a hard time focusing on anything; his ears were ringing, his body was aching, and a heavy throbbing came from his head. Something warm flowed down the side of his face and he winced. _Blood._

When he opened his eyes moments later, Jughead was thoroughly disoriented. He registered the bright lights flashing from the fire alarms, along with huge flames and black smoke that billowed out from the ice room. That's when he remembered— _Betty_.

He quickly forced himself to his feet, stumbling into the wall a few times. Other hotel guests began emptying into the hallway, frantically pushing past him and moving towards the stairs at the end of the hall. He struggled to focus his blurry vision on the faces rushing past him, searching for one face. " _Betty!"_ he shouted, fighting to move against the crowd; but the blaring fire alarms and screams from the other people drowned out his voice. " _BETTY!"_ he tried again, to no avail.

Panic consumed him. He reached into his pocket for his phone, but realized when it wasn't there that he probably lost it in the explosion.

Jughead coughed violently from the smoke and tried yelling Betty's name again. _Definitely a mistake_ , he regretfully thought, after more smoke painfully entered his lungs.

Stumbling back closer to the ice room, he felt his foot hit something on the floor. He saw it was his phone and picked it up, answering Toni's incoming call. "Toni," he shouted, over the noise. "There was an explosion, and—Betty—I can't— _I can't find Betty_ ," he said with a strained voice. His breathing was ragged, and the smoke was getting heavier in the air. It was hard to see anything at this point, and he could feel himself running out of oxygen.

"Jug—I can't hear you over the alarms, Jug, but we're almost there, okay? _Get out of there_. I'm sure Betty just got lost in the crowd," Toni said. "We'll find you guys, Jughead. We're coming."

Toni hung up and Jughead immediately dialed Betty. _Please pick up, Betts. Pick up the phone. Pick up._

And as if by miracle, Jughead heard her phone ring. He whirled around to face the sound; somehow, through all this chaos, he recognized Betty's ringtone. He followed the sound back down the hall, and the ringing got louder…louder…

Stunned, he stopped at their hotel room door. It was open. " _Hi!"_ Betty's sweet voice said.

But a devastated Jughead stepped inside an empty room. " _This is Betty, sorry I missed your call."_ He spotted her phone tucked neatly into her purse and scowled at the device like it was the devil. " _Leave me a message and I'll get back to you!"_

Voicemail. No Betty. She had left her phone in the room, and now Jughead had no way of finding her.

The smoke had reached their room now, surging in from the hall. He started to feel dizzy and he coughed, leaning on the wall for support. The lack of oxygen was winning, and Jughead collapsed against his will. His last thought was ' _Betty_.'

* * *

Jughead awoke to the sound of yelling.

"We can't fit him on the back of the bike, there's hardly room for _two of us_!"

"Well, what do you suggest we do? Leave him here?!" Toni's was shouting, likely at Cheryl.

A loud voice replied. "I suggest you _wake him up_ so we can find out what the hell happened!" Yup, that was Cheryl.

He heard Toni huff in frustration. " _Fine._ Just try calling FP again, and get Archie to come with his truck."

"FP is already on his way, and I texted Veronica, who texted Archie, who texted Kevin, who is already here with his dad," he heard Cheryl reply.

Jughead groaned from the pain and tried to move, but everything hurt. It felt like his body stopped working.

"Jug?! Jughead?!" Toni shouted, concerned. He felt her shake his shoulder, and he opened his eyes a crack to look at her. "Jughead! Thank God, can you sit up?"

Jughead winced and coughed hard, but was capable of righting himself into a sitting position. He frowned and looked around, noticing that he was sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. Confused and disoriented, he looked at Toni and asked, "What happened?"

She looked back at him with wide eyes. "Jug, you don't remember? There was an explosion…and Betty…"

_Betty._

At the sound of her name, the events from this evening came flooding back to him. He cursed and got to his feet, but Toni grabbed his arm firmly before he could run off in a panic. " _Let me go_ , Toni—" he argued, "I have to go find her!"

"Jughead, _look!"_ she cried in reply, pointing to the building next to them. Following her gaze, he looked up and recognized the Four Seasons hotel, surrounded by police cars and firetrucks. Black smoke was pouring out of a window. "That window was your room, Jughead. The entire floor is closed off now—it's a miracle we were able to get to you before they sealed off the building."

"FP said he was around the corner," Cheryl said quietly, coming over to stand with them.

Jughead ignored her. "So then Betty…she has to be out here…right?" He looked at Toni, silently pleading that she would agree with him and say something like, _Yeah, we found her earlier! She's okay!_

But Toni looked at him helplessly. "Jug, you don't understand…they evacuated _everyone_. No one is left in that building."

Jughead felt confused. His breathing increased rapidly with his rising panic and disbelief. "No—that's not possible. Betty has to be in there—"

A loud roar of a motorcycle interrupted him, indicating that FP had arrived. " _JUGHEAD!"_ his dad yelled, running up to him and pulling him into a tight hug. "You okay, son? What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm _fine_ dad," Jughead said, pulling away from FP. "But Betty _—"_

Screeching tires interrupted him for a second time, and they glanced up to see Fred Andrews arriving in his truck with a frantic Alice Cooper, Veronica, and Archie. They all started talking at the same time.

" _Jughead!"_

" _Are you okay!?"_

"What happened?!"

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!" Alice Cooper's panic-stricken voice rose above all of the rest.

" _That's what I'm trying to get to!"_ Jughead shouted, frustrated. He looked at Alice, and then to Archie and Veronica. "She's gone—I don't know where she went. She left our room to get ice and then—the next thing I know, the ice room is on fire and everyone is evacuating." He ran a hand over his face from exasperation and exhaustion.

Alice was crying hysterically. "What do you mean _gone?!"_

"They evacuated everyone out of the building," Toni answered, looking frantically between Alice and Jughead.

"I'm telling you they're _wrong_ ," Jughead insisted angrily, "because if they evacuated 'everyone' then Betty would be here!"

At this point, everyone started to argue. Archie and Veronica stood by Jughead on wanting to go back inside the building and look for Betty; FP was trying to calm Alice down and keep her from running off. Toni was desperately trying to stop _everyone_ from going back into the hotel.

" _Everyone shut the hell up!"_ Cheryl finally yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. She coldly stared everyone down until they were silent. "For some reason, Toni's words aren't registering with your tiny little brains," she said angrily, "so get it through your thick skulls: _The police already closed everything off._ No one can get back into that building." She looked sternly at Archie, Jughead, and Veronica, who were tempted to charge the building in search for Betty. Cheryl's little speech, however, actually knocked some sense into their heads.

"Cheryl and I were barely able to get in and out without suffocating on the smoke," Toni added. "Jughead was hardly breathing when we found him."

Amidst their conversation, Kevin Keller had run up to the group. "Cheryl and Toni are right. I just checked with my dad. He says everything is sealed off and that all guests have been moved out of the building." He turned to Alice and said, "I just ran around checking the survivors that were pulled out of the smoke, and…I'm sorry Mrs. Cooper, but I didn't see Betty." Alice was sobbing uncontrollably at this point, and FP whispered hushed things while pulling her into an embrace.

Jughead's heart dropped and he tuned everyone out. He stepped away from the group to stare up at the smoke erupting from his hotel room. _Betts,_ he thought grimly, _I really hope you're not in there._

He felt Archie approach him, placing a hand on Jughead's shoulder. "Jug…I know this isn't making sense. But we'll find her. Or she'll find us," Archie said, trying to be optimistic. "Betty's a smart girl, Jug. She'll show up."

* * *

But 24 hours went by and there was still no sign of her. Sheriff Keller declared it a kidnapping, and had an APB ("All-Points-Bulletin") out for Betty.

Archie, Veronica, Kevin and Jughead skipped school to try and look for her, but they ran around all morning and afternoon without any success. By evening, the four of them ended up at Pop's—exhausted, demoralized, and fresh out of ideas.

Kevin broke the long silence first. "Guys…I know that it feels like we've looked everywhere, but my dad's still out there and he's even got his deputies looking for Betty. He won't stop til' he finds her."

Veronica just looked at him sadly. Archie tried to keep up with the positive trend that Kevin started. "Let's think of the positives. She can't just disappear. She's out there," he said, "and either we're gonna find her, or she's gonna find us." _Or her kidnapper is going to kill her…or he's already killed her…or maybe we're gonna find her in the river just like Jason Blossom_. Those were a few of the many thoughts running through Jughead's mind.

He didn't bother chiming in. Instead, he stared outside the window as it began to rain. To his friends, he appeared stone-faced and emotionless; but inside, he was a train wreck.

Kevin's cell rang, and he excused himself to take the call outside of Pop's.

"Jug…did anything else strange happen back at the hotel?" Archie asked.

"Other than my girlfriend's seemingly-impossible disappearance?" Jughead snapped bitterly, but instantly regretted it. Archie just sat back and said nothing.

Veronica scowled at Jughead. "Look, you're not the only one hurting here."

"V, stop," Archie tried.

"No," she said sharply. "We lost her too, Jughead. Don't take it out on Archie."

Jughead stared at the table, not meeting their eyes. "V's right. I'm sorry Arch. I just feel so _guilty_."

Veronica softened her gaze. "Jug, none of this is your fault."

Jughead sighed loudly and placed his head in his hands. "I don't understand how any of this happened. One minute, we're celebrating her joining the Serpents—" A surprised Veronica and Archie glanced at each other, but didn't interrupt. "—and the next thing I know, Betty's kidnapped and the ice machine suddenly decides to dish out _fire_ ," he said sarcastically.

Archie looked at him with a frown. "I've been thinking…that ice room was obviously rigged, right? So why didn't it blow up on Betty?" Archie voiced his thoughts aloud. "I mean, she went ahead of you—so shouldn't _she_ have tripped the explosion?"

Jughead had thought of that earlier, but didn't have an answer. Archie was right—someone definitely rigged the room, but the timing of the explosion was puzzling.

"Maybe whoever set it up didn't want Betty to get hurt, so they stopped her from going in" Veronica guessed. "Or else, _she_ would have been the one to open that door. Not you, Jughead." The thought of that happening to Betty scared him.

To counter Veronica's guess, Jughead ventured his own. "Or…Betty _did_ get end up getting ice, and the son-of-a-bitch who kidnapped her rigged the room _after_ he took her, knowing someone like me would come looking for her."

Veronica sat up, eyes wide. "Or maybe it was someone trying to hurt you?"

"With the bomb? Or by taking Betty?" Archie asked.

"Either…both?" Veronica sat up straighter, and Jughead could practically see the wheels turning in her head. He felt a pain in his heart, recognizing that same expression on Betty's face when they were solving the mystery of the Black Hood. "It doesn't matter. Someone could be trying to hurt you, Jug, by going after Betty."

"Or maybe someone was just trying to kill Jughead with that bomb," Archie suggested.

"No…that explosion was painful as hell, but it definitely wasn't strong enough to kill me," Jughead muttered.

"Did you piss off anyone recently, Jug?" Archie joked light-heartedly, and Jughead scoffed.

"Arch, I just became leader of the _Southside Serpents_. It could be anyone—someone who doesn't like the Serpents, someone who doesn't like me, maybe even someone who doesn't like my dad."

"What if we're looking at this all wrong—what if this is all directed at Betty, or Mrs. Cooper?" Archie thought. "I mean—Hal _just_ admitted to being the Black Hood. We should expect some sort of backlash; there could be a lot of people out for Cooper blood." That was an interesting guess, too. Targeting Betty could easily be someone's way of revenge against the Cooper family.

The three of them were just starting to discuss Archie's theory when Kevin came bursting through Pop's doors. _"Hospital—"_ he shouted, "We have to go— _NOW."_

"Kevin," Veronica started. "Slow down—"

Kevin waved her off and just stated, " _It's Betty."_

That was all the explanation they needed.

* * *

_[Present]_

It took the first 24 hours to track down Betty, only to find her in an unresponsive state for another 24 hours.

"They're saying she's in a coma," Jughead explained meekly to Archie and Veronica, who sat with him next to Betty's bed. "According to the nurses, they didn’t find Betty; she found _them_. She stumbled straight into the hospital last night all alone, bloodied, and bruised, and collapsed. She hasn't woken up since." His mind wandered back to the hotel, to the moment just before she left. _"I'll always wait for you, Betts,"_ he had told her. Little did he know he would be waiting for her to come out of a coma.

An angry Alice Cooper could be heard from down the hall, where she was yelling at the nurses' station. " _I don't care_ _if the doctor is with another patient—I want to speak to him_ , _NOW!"_ she barked. Archie and Veronica cringed at Alice's short-temper, but it didn't affect Jughead. Nothing could faze him, anymore. He felt numb.

"Jughead, how about we go get some food, huh?" Archie suggested, nudging his friend.

"Not hungry," he mumbled. He stared blankly at Betty's sheets. If he was hungry, he couldn't feel it.

Veronica sighed and placed an arm over Jughead's shoulders. "Starving yourself isn't going to wake her up, Jug. You need to eat." When he didn't respond, she looked at Archie helplessly.

"Let's go to Pop's and bring back some food," Archie suggested to her. "How does a shake and a burger sound?" he asked Jughead. He nodded just to appease them, uttering a quiet "Sure" before they left.

Now alone in the room, he scooted closer to Betty's bed. Jughead's heart physically hurt when he saw the wounds on her face. One cheek was black and blue, and her lip was split. There were some small stitches on the side of her head.

He placed his hand over hers. "Hi Betts" he said hesitantly. Normally, he would feel stupid talking to a sleeping person—but this was _Betty._ "The nurses told me I should talk to you, that maybe you could hear me, but...it might be a boring conversation, seeing as I'm the only one speaking." Jughead was joking, but it felt less funny with no one responding. He gulped hard and looked down at the bed. "I gotta admit, I'm pretty scared. I don't think I've ever been more scared in my life."

With his other hand, he reached up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. He gently stroked her cheek once before dropping his hand back down. "I don't know what to do, Betty. I really need you right now. We all need you."

" _What do you mean, 'he can't see me right now'?"_ An angrier Alice Cooper roared, still yelling at the nurses and interrupting his moment with Betty. " _My daughter is in a coma, for Christ's sake—and so help me God, if you do not get that doctor down here in the next two minutes, I will tear every inch of this hospital apart until I find him MYSELF!_ "

Jughead looked back at Betty. "How you lived with your mother for so long, I'll never know," he chuckled dryly. "I think I should go and try to save the nice nurses from the wrath that is _your mother,"_ he stated.

Jughead leaned over to gently kiss Betty's forehead. "I love you, Betty," he said softly. "Please wake up soon."

With that, he squeezed her hand one last time and stood. But just as he reached the door, he heard her heart monitor spike. Stunned, he whirled around, glancing between Betty and the heart monitor. " _Betts_?" She hadn't moved, but the sound of her heartbeat was quickly leaping into a faster rhythm. _She was waking up,_ he realized.

Jughead immediately jumped to her bedside and pushed the red button for assistance. As if on cue, a loud gasp came from Betty. She jerked up in bed, startling Jughead, and looked around with wide-eyes.

" _Betty?"_ he asked, shocked.

She finally registered his presence and turned to look at him with a confused expression, as if she didn't understand what he said. She let out a dry sob, and said to him, "Where am I? What's going on?"

Jughead let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding and smiled at her. "It's okay, Betty," he said, "We're at the hospital, but you're okay now. Everything's going to be okay."

Intending to comfort her, Jughead reached out to stroke her hair, but she slapped his hand away. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" she shouted, scooting as far away as she could from him.

He looked at her, confused. "Betts—" he tried again, reaching instead for her hand, but she recoiled and pulled both her hands close to her chest.

" _Stop!"_ she insisted. Her breathing suddenly increased as she panicked harder. Then, she looked at him with a bewildered expression and asked the one question that made Jughead's heart stop:

" _Who the hell are you?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a long time ago, I used to write on fanfiction.net, but that site seems to be much less active compared to this one.
> 
> Since this story was originally posted on FF, I will be uploading the next two chapters soon and then updating simultaneously on both sites.
> 
> Since I haven’t written in so long, I’m really looking forward to feedback—so please drop some comments or kudos if you enjoyed!!!
> 
> Thanks a billion! xx 


	2. Roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities, and foxy_04 for leaving comments on my first chapter! You’re awesome. This chapter is for y’all. :)

_Previously:_

_Intending to comfort her, Jughead reached out to stroke her hair, but she slapped his hand away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she shouted, scooting as far away as she could from him._

_He looked at her, confused. "Betts—" he tried again, reaching instead for her hand, but she recoiled and pulled both her hands close to her chest._

_"_ _Stop!" she insisted. Her breathing increased as she panicked harder. Then, she looked at him with a bewildered expression and asked the one question that made Jughead's heart stop:_

" _Who the hell are you?"_

* * *

Betty had pushed herself to the very corner of her bed—the farthest away from _him._ Jughead stared at her in shock, but slowly registered what was happening. He eventually pushed down his rising concern and pleaded with her softly, "Betty…look at me." She did, but with such a frightened expression that it broke his heart. _He was scaring her_. "Do you…not remember me?" Betty looked at him with tears welling up in her eyes. She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted when a man came rushing in.

He looked young, about twenty-five, with blonde hair and fair skin. He had an interesting set of eyes; one was blue and the other was brown. "Oh—I apologize, I didn't know she had visitors," he said, seeing an alarmed Jughead. "My name is Dr. Watkins." He held his hand out to shake Jughead's.

With a broken voice, he said quietly to the doctor, "I don't think she remembers me."

"Oh goodness, what a shame…" Dr. Watkins looked at Jughead with an expression that pitied him. "I take it you're the boyfriend?" Jug only nodded tightly in response.

The doctor then turned to Betty and said, "Hi there, sweetheart, I'll be taking care of you today. How are you feeling?"

Jughead glared at the doctor for addressing Betty as "sweetheart". But Betty didn't think much of it; she simply said, "I'm…tired. And confused." While this conversation happened, Jughead pulled out his phone and texted Veronica.

_J: Betty's awake. You guys have to get back here, now._

_V: OMG, Jug that's GREAT! We're almost there—Is she ok?_

_J: The doctor is checking her now…but V, I don't think she remembers me._

_V: That's crazy, Jughead. There's no way she could forget you._

The doctor's voice caught Jughead's attention and he put his phone away to observe what was happening to Betty. "Can I ask you a few questions?" Dr. Watkins asked, and Betty nodded. "Can you tell me your name?"

Jughead tensed at the long pause she took. He was watching her intently when her gaze shifted from the doctor to meet Jughead's eyes. She frowned at him. "Betty. Or 'Betts.' That's what _that_ guy kept calling me," she muttered, gesturing sharply towards Jughead with her chin. _'That guy?'_ he thought painfully. _Really? He was just 'that guy' now?_

"Oh dear." The doctor turned to Jughead and said sadly, "It appears she _really doesn't_ remember you."

That comment really stung. He wanted to be angry at the doctor for rubbing it in, but it was a true statement—she really _didn't_ remember him. Jughead swallowed his pain and spoke quietly to the doctor. "Is there anything I can do? To help her remember?"

The doctor tutted his tongue in a _tsk tsk tsk;_ it was as if the man _enjoyed_ irritating Jughead. "No…I am so sorry. That just wouldn't be a good idea…Betty really needs some time to process everything. In fact…I think it may be _too_ overwhelming for her to have any visitors right now," he said, with the same pitiful tone of voice.

Jughead clenched his teeth. He was absolutely floored by this doctor's behavior—weren't doctors supposed to do their job _without_ showing emotions that could upset the patients and their families?

He pushed his frustration aside and repeated his question. "So there's _nothing_ I can do?"

"Well, you can _leave,"_ the doctor suggested smugly. With a fake smile plastered on his face, he gestured to the door.

Jughead glared daggers at the man. If Betty weren't in the room, he probably would have knocked this guy into next week. But, he didn't want to risk scaring Betty any more than he already had. So Jughead held his tongue, followed the doctor's orders, and left.

He was pacing angrily outside of Betty's room when he saw Veronica and Archie running towards him. Before either one of them could say anything, Jughead said, "Don't get me wrong, I am overjoyed that Betty's awake—but does she really need _Dr. Asshole?"_

Veronica and Archie glanced at him with confused expressions. "Who?" they both asked.

"Her doctor," Jughead explained. He shook his head, exasperated. "I know I shouldn't be talking shit about the person who's helping her get better—but he's just so _infuriating!_ "

"Jughead, are you sure you're not just…emotional?" Veronica said carefully. "You know, from everything that's happened to Betty?"

Jughead sighed. " _Of course_ I am. But I'm telling you, V, that guy—"

He cut himself off when he saw Alice running down the hall towards them. She wasn't alone; an older doctor was by her side.

A confused Jughead looked at the man, and then back at Alice. "Who the hell is he?"

"This is Dr. Watkins, Betty's doctor." Alice said. She grinned at Jughead. "I _finally_ found him!"

The man genuinely smiled at Jughead and reached out his hand in greeting. "Hi there," he said. "Alice tracked me down just as my nurses paged me with an alert from Betty's room."

Jughead's mind started working overtime. "Wait, _you're_ Betty's doctor?"

“HI!” Veronica laughed dryly and interrupted, raising her hands. "Sorry, _confused._ If you're Betty's doctor, then who—"

_CRASH!_

Shattered glass sounded from Betty's room just as Jughead figured out what was going on. _"Fuck!"_ he cursed. He tried to open the door, only to find it locked.

"Together," Archie suggested, and Jughead nodded in understanding. Together, the two of them kicked the door, hard. It flew open, and everyone rushed in to find a shattered window and an unconscious Betty.

* * *

The _real_ Dr. Watkins had notified security, but it was too late—the strange man had already disappeared. Veronica, Archie and Jughead were asked to wait outside while Dr. Watkins checked Betty for any injuries; to ensure Betty's safety, Alice stayed in the room.

Out of nowhere, Jughead slammed his fist into one of the waiting room tables, making a loud _BOOM!_ that startled some people nearby.

"Dude, stop," Archie said, grabbing hold of his arm. "That's not going to help."

"I should have known Doctor _Dickwad_ was a fake—" Jughead said, pissed. "I was literally in the same room with that _imposter_ , Arch. I mean, God, if anything happened to Betty because _I_ left him there—I just—" Jughead was so mad, he struggled to form sentences. " _Do you have any idea how I'm feeling right now?_ "

"I know you're upset, man, but that could've happened to any of us," Archie said, trying to comfort his friend.

Veronica scooted closer to Jughead and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Yeah, Jug, you gotta stop blaming yourself. Just be happy that Betty's still with us, and she's going to be okay."

But Jughead was far too absorbed in his own thoughts to respond. He wondered if Betty's memory loss was temporary; maybe waking up from a coma gets you all confused? He really couldn't know—and he definitely couldn't trust anything Dr. Asshole said to him. _I should have rearranged his ugly face when I had the chance,_ he thought sourly. Ah, missed opportunities…

None of them tried to stir up the conversation. They sat in the waiting room in silence, too depressed and shook up to try and sugar coat the situation. Jughead knew one thing for certain: Betty was the glue that held this group together. Without her, they were broken. And it felt as though someone was _trying_ to tear them apart.

But who?

As if things weren't already worse, Alice's sobs sounded from down the hall. _Oh no…_ Jughead panicked and stood when he saw Alice come running towards them with tears streaming down her face.

"Mrs. Cooper?" Veronica asked, worriedly placing a hand on Alice's arm. "What happened?"

Between tears and shaky gasps, Alice looked at the group of teens and said, "Betty, she—she doesn't remember me, and—and s _he doesn't even know who she is!_ "

* * *

Betty had no sustaining injuries. They weren't sure what that strange man did to Betty, but no additional harm was noted. As Dr. Watkins explained to the group before they left the hospital, some amnesia is common in patients coming out of a coma—but complete and total memory loss? Even Dr. Watkins found the situation odd. He took some blood samples and said he would run some tests to be sure nothing else was wrong.

"Go home," the doctor had told them all. "Take Betty with you. If anything, being in a familiar home with her friends may jog her memories. Don't force her to try and remember—just let her familiarize herself with her surroundings."

So that's what they did. But as they would soon find out, their efforts to help her remember only made the situation worse.

Betty felt numb. On the whole ride home from the hospital, she stayed silent and stared outside. She tuned out this chatterbox of a woman who was apparently her mother, and instead watched the rain fall hard against the car window.

She knew that she lost her memories. She didn't know who she was, who her friends were, who her family was... It was unsettling, like her mind had been wiped clean.

All she knew was her name, and that was only because of that strange boy in the beanie who so rudely invaded her personal space back at the hospital.

The car eventually came to a stop in front of this big, beautiful white house. Betty sighed when she looked at it. "I assume this is home?" Alice's face lit up and Betty quickly added, "I don't recognize it, no…I'm just assuming this is where we live because you turned off the car."

Alice's face fell. "Oh…well, yes—this is home. This has been the only home you've known your entire life."

An awkward silence fell between the two before she noticed a pickup truck pull up next door and park. Betty recognized the three teens who were also at the hospital and she frowned. "What are _they_ doing here?"

"Well, the redheaded boy is our neighbor. He's been your best friend since you were very young. And the others wanted to come and show you around the house, maybe pick out some things that might jog your memory—"

"I don't want them here," Betty interrupted, staring at the group outside.

Alice looked at Betty like she grew a third eye. " _What?_ "

"I said, I don't want them to come over," Betty repeated sternly, looking at her mother hard. "Please tell them to leave."

Alice was taken aback, but she reluctantly agreed. She got out of the car and approached the three kids that were walking in her direction. "I'm sorry," Alice said, "but you all have to leave."

"Leave?" Veronica laughed. "That's ridiculous, we just got here."

"Yeah, Mrs. Cooper, I thought you wanted us to help out with Betty," Archie said.

"Well…Betty says she doesn't want your help. She wanted me to tell you all to leave," Alice replied. She wrung her hands nervously. "Kids, I don't agree with it, but I don't think making Betty more upset would be helpful."

"Why is she upset?" Jughead asked. "What upset her?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "She was quiet the whole way home, but once she saw you all here, she got mad and asked me to keep you all away."

The kids said nothing in response except looked at each other uneasily. Jughead was staring back at the car, no doubt trying to see how Betty was doing.

"Please," Alice said, "Just go home for tonight and we'll figure something out tomorrow."

* * *

Betty watched from the car as her mother talked to the three teens. The boy with the beanie kept glancing back towards her, and she couldn't figure out why.

She also couldn't explain why they bothered her. All she knew was that she didn't want to be around them. How they were _friends_ , she didn't know. Betty felt nothing but animosity towards the group. With her memory gone, Betty's only option was to trust her gut feeling—and right now, her gut feeling was telling her to stay away from those three kids.

Relief flooded through her when she saw them all leave. Alice Cooper came back to the car and opened her door. "They're gone, sweetie. It's just you and me tonight."

Betty said nothing. She also felt annoyed towards her mother, and she (again) didn't know why. _Probably because she talks too much_ , she thought to herself.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Alice showed her around the house. She pointed out all her favorite things—none of which rang any bells whatsoever. Even her bedroom—with her pictures, books, and posters on the wall—didn't feel familiar to her.

"I think I'd like to be alone, now," she said quietly to her mom. Alice looked around sadly, but agreed to give her her space.

She stopped at the doorway before leaving Betty in her room. "I arranged for Archie to come walk you to school tomorrow, if you're up for it?" Betty shrugged uneasily. Alice quickly added, "If you don't feel like going back to school, we can postpone it another few days…"

"No," Betty said, "it's fine. School sounds good." Archie did _not._ But maybe something at school would help her remember who she was.

When her mom finally left Betty to her own, she let out a big sigh of relief and laid back on her bed. Her head hit something hard on her pillow and she muttered "Ow" in pain. She sat up and lifted the sheets to see a small, white box sitting on her pillow. It was big enough to fill her hand, and had a black ribbon that tied into a neat little bow.

_Odd,_ Betty said with a frown. Even in her blank state-of-mind Betty knew she wouldn't leave anything on her pillow. Maybe this was a present of hers that she received before her accident?

But it was still sealed. A small card was tucked neatly into the bow and she pulled it out:

_Betty_

_I hope this helps you remember me. I'll be in touch, soon._

_All my love..._

It was left unsigned.

Inside the box was a small glass bottle. The body was a beautiful red, with a black tinted cap. It was a perfume bottle—but with no tags or labels, so she couldn't identify the price or the brand.

She sprayed a little perfume on her wrist and inhaled. _Roses_. She had a feeling that she used to like roses a lot—after all, they were pretty and she liked the smell. She sprayed more on her other wrist and inhaled again. The scent of the roses was so pure, so subtly-sweet. Pleased with her gift, Betty smiled and lay back down, closing her eyes while taking in the floral fragrance.

Because of her lack of memories left her with nothing else to think about, Betty's mind wandered to roses—their beautiful colors, shapes, scents. Her thoughts drifted to the beautiful gift. She wondered who left it for her—a friend? A boyfriend? Secret admirer?

Her pleasant thoughts were shattered when a face suddenly flashed through her mind. Betty gasped, opening her eyes and bolting upright. _Who the hell was that?_

The face flashed a second time in her mind, and Betty tried to focus hard on its features. It was a young man, with light skin, a sharp nose, defined jawline...Dark hair—brown? Black? She couldn't tell.

The image of the man lasted in her head about two seconds before it disappeared. It was long enough for her to recognize those eyes. They were a dark brown. Almost black. Betty was _positive_ she's seen those eyes before.

She obviously remembered someone significant—but who was this strange man?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this chapter 3 times...LOL. 
> 
> POLL: is there a POV you want to see? I’ve enjoyed writing in Jughead’s. 
> 
> ANOTHER POLL: what color do you think Betty’s jacket should be?
> 
> Drop a comment if you enjoyed! Xx
> 
> -A


	3. Powerless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love when people like dsvridiculousfangirl share their reactions, so fun for me to see into the minds of you readers. Thanks boo <3
> 
> Read on!

_Previously:_

_Her pleasant thoughts were shattered when a face suddenly flashed through her mind. Betty gasped, opening her eyes and bolting upright. Who the hell was that?_

_The face flashed a second time in her mind, and Betty tried to focus hard on its features. It was a young man, with light skin, a sharp nose, defined jawline...Dark hair—brown? Black? She couldn't tell._

_The image of the man lasted in her head about two seconds before it disappeared. It was long enough for her to recognize those eyes. They were a dark brown. Almost black. Betty was positive she's seen those eyes before._

_She obviously remembered someone significant—but who was this strange man?_

* * *

 

Darkness.

It was everywhere she looked, everywhere she stepped. Everything around her was black, from the cold floor to the sky.

Betty slowly walked forward, her feet splashing through puddles of water. She shivered from the cold and hastily brushed her hands over her arms in a failed attempt to warm up. Her feet were bare and she only wore a hospital gown, so the chilly atmosphere hit hard.

A loud sob echoed through the air. Betty whirled around to try and pinpoint the source, but she couldn't figure it out. "Hello?" she called out hesitantly. "Is someone there?"

The sobs had quieted to softer whimpers, and Betty walked in the direction of the sound. A small figure appeared several feet away, hunched over on the ground. She was blonde, and also wore a hospital gown, but she looked like a child.

Betty stopped behind her, unsure of what to do—but strongly felt the need to comfort this strange girl. "Hey, there..." Betty knelt behind the girl, reaching out to place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What's your name sweetie?"

The girl's shoulders stilled as her sobs stopped. She sniffled, answered "Elizabeth," and turned to look back at Betty. She asked, "What's yours?"

Betty gasped when she saw her face. The little girl was  _her_. She was looking at a five year old version of herself, and it seriously freaked her out. Momentarily dazed, Betty had to force herself to answer: "Betty."

The girl turned her back to Betty again. "My friends call me that," she said quietly, returning her tear-filled gaze to the ground.

"Really?" Betty replied, "what are your friends' names?"

"My best friend is named Archie," the little girl replied. "We have another friend with a funny name. He goes by Jughead. I think it's silly."

Archie and Jughead? The three of them...were friends?

Betty didn't understand. She was certain that she wasn't friends with Jughead or Archie now. She felt a strong animosity towards the two—honestly, she couldn't see them being anything but enemies.

Betty, now uncomfortable and confused, wanted to change the subject. "So...Elizabeth...why are you crying?"

"Because..." The girl sniffled once again. " _You lost me._ "

Betty frowned. "I don't understand...are you lost?"

" _No_ ," the girl fired back angrily. She stood and looked down at Betty who remained kneeling on the floor. Little Elizabeth clenched her fists tightly and started crying again, and Betty noticed for the first time the black, ashy smudges in her face, and her gown tinged with burn marks. " _You_  lost me!  _In the fire!_ "

Confused, Betty stared back at her younger self. "Wha—Fire? What fire?"

"You  _know_  the one.  _The fire_. The explosion. Everything!" Elizabeth started sobbing harder now. "You let that bad man take me!"

"What do you mean? What man?" Betty asked helplessly.

"The dark haired man! You let him take us away. You let him do bad things to us, Betty. You're letting him win!"

Betty stumbled to her feet now, feeling a searing pain creeping its way into Betty's head. "This man...I don't know who you're talking about. I don't... _I don't understand_."

Little Elizabeth stomped angrily and stared up at Betty. "You  _have_  to remember! You can't let him win!" she yelled, "You have to talk to Jughead! He can help us!"

But Jughead...why would she talk to that loser? "I really don't think that's a good idea...I'm pretty sure we don't get along. Like, at all."

"Ugh, no!" Elizabeth cried. "That's HIS influence—stop letting  _him_  control you!"

"Who? He— _who?_ " Betty asked desperately. She was so confused. This little version of her didn't make any sense. "Sweetie, Jughead and I really don't talk..."

"Stop!" Elizabeth yelled. She took a step forward and Betty started to stumble backwards, away from her younger self and into the dark. Young Elizabeth called after her. "You need to wake up from this horrible nightmare! Listen to your heart, not your head! You have to remember who we are! _WAKE UP!_ "

* * *

_"Betty, wake up!"_

Betty jolted awake in bed and spotted her mother in the doorway, saying "Time to wake up, Betty!" Alice clapped her hands to emphasize her request. "Come on sweetie, Archie will be over soon to walk you to school."

 _"Archie?"_  Betty replied bitterly. Her sour response to his name was automatic, almost natural. She couldn't help but look at her mother with a scrunched up face full of disdain.

Alice, seeing her daughter's unhappy face, came over to sit on Betty's bed. "Is school something you're ready to handle? Because it's only Monday—and you don't need to go back just yet."

"No..." Betty sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. "I need to do this, I need to be back on a schedule. Maybe it'll help me remember things."

Alice left her to get ready on her own. In her closet, Betty found a ton of sweaters. She wrinkled her nose in disapproval.  _They're all so...plain,_  she thought to herself. Very "pastel," with all the pinks, baby blues, white…

Unsatisfied with the selection, she dug towards the back of her closet to find something that suited her mood. Eventually, she found a wine red halter top and black skinny jeans. It stuck out against her majorly pastel-colored closet, and she felt a twinge of something— _satisfaction?_  Some part of her knew she didn't normally dress this way, but since she couldn't remember how she usually looked, she decided to go with her gut feeling.  _Fuck it,_  she thought, brushing her hair and leaving it down in waves. Maybe this was the change Betty needed.

At her dresser, she went with the makeup that looked like had been recently used—mascara, subtle blush, and a lip color. She picked up a lipstick and eyed the label. "Pink Perfection?" Betty cringed and set it down. Surely she had something else...

She settled with a beautiful berry red color that had been shoved deep into one of her drawers:  _Seduce Scarlet_. That sounded better. Powerful.

Now fully satisfied with her look, Betty was about to leave her room when the mysterious gift from last night caught her eye. With a smile, she spritzed the lovely rose scent all over and headed downstairs.

She found her mother on the phone when she came downstairs and the doorbell rang, so Betty went to answer it herself. The guy on her porch step was most  _definitely_  not Archie.

"There's my girl," he said, with a charming smile.

Betty just looked at him, stunned. It was the same guy who popped into her head last night when she opened her gift. She swallowed hard and looked down. "I—um—"

"Wait, Betty—" He stepped closer and gently lifted her chin with his fingers to look at her more closely. "You  _do_  remember me, don't you,  _mi bella_?"

_Mi bella..._

She looked at him this time— _really_  looked at him. The long curls of black hair and his dark brown eyes seemed so familiar. As her gaze met his, she felt compelled to agree with him. "Yes," she eventually said softly, although she couldn't even remember his name.

"That's good...I'm glad." He smiled at her and dropped his hand, looking her over in a way that sent shivers down her spine. "I just came by to make sure you were alright." He stepped backwards off the porch steps and motioned for her to follow. "Come on, I'm giving you a ride." As he turned away, Betty gasped quietly. On the back of this man's black leather jacket was a snake—curved in an "S" symbol that she was all too familiar with.

Betty was  _certain_  she knew that symbol. It was, in fact, the first crystal clear memory in the past twenty four hours. She knew that she had seen that "S" symbol many times before.

Surely Betty had enough common sense to stay away from strange men—let alone get into a stranger's car. But for some reason, she felt like she trusted him. And on top of that, this was an opportunity to get some questions answered.

So what else could Betty do besides get into his car?

* * *

Moments after Betty left, a knock sounded on the Coopers' door. Alice was puzzled to find Archie on the doorstep. "Archie, what are you doing here?"

Archie looked at her with an equally puzzled look. "I'm here to walk Betty to school...didn't you ask me to do that today?"

"I did, but—I thought—didn't you just pick her up?" Alice asked. "The doorbell just rang and Betty answered it and left."

"Mrs. Cooper, Betty didn't leave with me..." Archie started, but seeing her begin to worry he quickly added, "You know what, she probably got in one of Veronica's cars or maybe Kevin came by. I'll look for her at school, Mrs. Cooper, don't you worry!" Archie ran off before Alice could freak out any further. But the truth was, Archie was just as worried as Alice.

While walking to school at a brisk pace, he pulled out his phone and tried calling Betty. But after several unanswered calls, Archie quit and instead opened a group chat with Jughead and Veronica.

**A: Did either one of you pick up Betty this morning?**

Jughead and Veronica replied within seconds.

**J: Don't even joke, man.**

**V: Not funny Archiekins.**

**A: I'm not kidding around guys. Someone came to pick up Betty before I got there.**

**J: Arch, what the fuck-**

**A: And Mrs. Cooper didn't see who it was...I was hoping it was one of you.**

**J: YOU HAD ONE JOB.**

**V: You tried calling her?**

**A: No answer.**

**V: I'll ask Kevin.**

**A: Alright—everyone keep each other posted.**

Archie's text was interrupted by a call from what he guessed was an angry Jughead. " _Are you kidding me, man?_ " Yup, Jughead was definitely angry.  _"You LITERALLY had one job, what the hell happened?!"_

"I really don't know, man— _I'm sorry_ , okay? I know I sound like an idiot right now—"

"Yes, you do."

Archie scowled over the phone. "But from what Alice said, it seemed like Betty left willingly, like with a friend or someone she knew. I don't think she's in any danger or anything."

"If you're suggesting we sit back and do nothing—"

"I'm not!" Archie interrupted. "I'm simply saying, let's not jump to conclusions. She really might just end up at school. And  _then_  if she doesn't, we'll panic."

Archie silently prayed that they didn't need to panic.

* * *

"Thank you," Betty said to the guy in the leather jacket, after a long silence.

Without taking his eyes off the road, he simply raised an eyebrow and asked, "For?"

Betty shifted nervously in the passenger's seat of his car and answered, "The gift...the, um, perfume."  _Why was she nervous?_  She was sure it was him. She saw his face flash through her mind when she opened it.

"Oh... _that_." He smirked. "You really don't need to thank me."

"It was sweet," Betty added, to which he chuckled softly. "What?"

With a subtle grin, he replied, "Oh sweetheart, if only you  _really_  remembered..."

Betty frowned, confused. "But I do...I think..."

He parked the car just down the street from Riverdale High and turned to face Betty, slinging an arm around the back of her seat. "Alright, babydoll..." He sighed and eyed her cautiously. "There's obviously a lot of stuff you don't remember—and lucky for you, I'm here to help. But first, why don't you tell me what you know?"

Betty sighed. It's not like she had a choice. She couldn't keep walking around empty-headed; she  _had_  to start rebuilding her memories. Accepting his help, Betty turned in her seat to face him. "Honestly...you're the clearest memory I've had in the last twenty-four hours."

"Really?" The corner of his lip curved up slightly as he smirked.

"Yeah..."

"So...what exactly do you remember about me?" he asked, while searching her face carefully. He was reading her expression, she could tell.

"Well," Betty tried to think, but his stare made her nervous. She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to avoid his hard gaze, and instead looked at the leather he wore. "Your jacket. I recognize it. The...  _Southside Serpents_?"

"Oh yeah. The  _serpents_." Betty didn't miss the odd tone of voice he used. "Do you remember them?" he asked.

She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking hard. "It's so hard to remember faces and people but... those jackets..." Betty drifted off as a memory flashed through her mind.

 

 

 

> _It was nighttime. She was in a small space—a trailer?_
> 
> _Betty was hiding behind a wall, peering around the corner. The door to the trailer was open and she heard muffled voices outside. For some reason, she couldn't focus hard enough to make out the words that were exchanged._
> 
> _But as she peeked around the corner she saw a guy on the trailer steps being handed a black leather jacket. A serpent jacket..._
> 
> _Tall. Black curly hair. Light skin..._
> 
> _She tried to focus on his face, desperately trying to identify the man, but a searing pain hit her head—_

_"Betty?"_

The memory blurred fast and she reopened her eyes, holding her head and wincing slightly.

"Hey."

She looked at him in awe, as if seeing him for the first time. Same black curls...same jacket...

"What happened?" he asked her, searching her face once again

"I dunno," Betty responded. "I think...I just had a memory of you. Of when you first got your jacket from the Serpents."

"Really?" Interest piqued, he leaned more into his arm he had draped over her seat. "And what do you remember?"

"Not much," Betty said, looking down as she recalled the memory. "We were in a trailer...and some Serpents just came by with it—"

"Do you remember which Serpents?"

Betty frowned and tried to think, but truly couldn't come up with any names. "No I don't..." she said dejectedly. She felt like a failure.

"It's okay—it's not important." He reached up and gently touched his hand to her face as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't worry about that, okay  _mi bella_?"

"Okay," she mumbled quietly. She couldn't help but look into his eyes. Such a deep, dark brown... How could she  _ever_  forget those eyes?

"Your hair looks good down," he said after a few moments. His hand had lingered near her face and he was playing with the strand he just tucked away.

Betty was just now noticing his close proximity. He had slowly been inching closer and closer while she was describing her memory. There was only about two feet of space separating his body from hers.

"You should keep it like this." His tone of voice changed. It dropped deeper, quieter. It was almost hypnotic. He looked at her hard and his gaze dropped lower...and lower...

Betty opened her mouth to respond but closed it immediately. She didn't know what to say. She could even think; she felt frozen to the spot. All of Betty's senses were going haywire—she couldn't even tell what emotions she was feeling. Good? Bad? Was she always like this? No—was  _he_  always like this...with her? Through the chaotic thoughts running through her head, she could still feel his gaze—like hot fire—engulfing her body and sending shivers down her spine.

Her heartbeat increased rapidly when he placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed. "I've missed you..." He moved his hand up to her waist and tugged her closer to him, making her gasp in surprise. "We have so much catching up to do,  _mi amor_..."

God, the way he spoke to her—she couldn't help but agree with a nod, dropping her gaze to his hand on her body.

His eyes followed his hand as it drifted up from her waist, ever so slowly creeping up, up, up—

Just as he skimmed the bottom of her breast, Betty heard the warning bell ring from school and she lurched away in surprise. "I—I'm sorry, um—" Betty stuttered.

She felt her cheeks burning from embarrassment, and all he did was chuckle in response. He muttered something under his breath that sounded like,  _"Boy, are we gonna have fun..."_  But Betty wasn't sure, so she shot him a puzzled look. He just shook his head, and returned her look with a charming smile. "Nothing. You should head off," he said, gesturing towards the school. "Wouldn't want to make you late."

Betty just nodded and reached for her backpack in the back seat. As she opened the passenger side door she stopped, realizing something. "Wait—you're not coming to school with me?"

He laughed. "I don't got time for school, sweetheart. I have some southside business to take care of. I'll see you later,  _mi bella_."

"Okay," Betty replied automatically, and he gave her a wink before speeding away.

It was only when he drove off that she realized— _she still didn't know his name._

* * *

Little did Betty know that a serpent had seen everything. Across the street was Toni Topaz, and she was furious.

As Betty hurried off towards campus, Toni whipped out her phone and dialed a number. "Cher," she said. "You are never gonna believe what I just saw..."

Toni then explained everything she just witnessed to Cheryl. It's true, that maybe from across the street she didn't have the best view. But Toni did work for the  _Red and Black_  back at Southside High, as a photographer. After spotting Betty with  _him_ , Toni put her skills to good use and snapped several close-up shots using her camera.

Toni was speaking too fast for Cheryl to comprehend everything. "Wait, wait, wait—slow down, babe. You saw Betty with  _who now_?"

Toni repeated the guy's name with something like a snarl.

 _"Toni—God, are you SURE?!"_  Cheeky shrieked on the other end of the phone.

"Yup," she replied sourly. "And that's not all, Cher—he was wearing a serpent jacket."

"Wha—How is that even possible?! How did he get his hands on one of our skins? None of us EVER take them off." Toni heard Cheryl groan with loud annoyance. "This is a nightmare, Toni. Jughead's gonna flip his shit if he finds out  _he_  was messing around with Betty."

Toni stalked towards the school, already having considered the problem. "I don't know if we should tell him, Cheryl...he's already torn up about Betty not even remembering him. This would absolutely drive him over the edge if he found out."

"No. You're right. He  _cannot_  find out about this," Cheryl agreed. "Keep those pictures close to you, babe, and let's keep a close eye on cousin dearest."

"Alright," Toni replied, stopping at the front of the school. "In the meantime, we should find out if any serpents are missing their jackets. Maybe ask some of the guys, but be subtle about it. We don't wanna stir up any more hell."

"You are right as always, my dear," Cheryl sang with a happy sigh. "Rendezvous later?"

"Absolutely babe," Toni replied with a smile. Before she hung up, she stressed one more time: "Remember—under no circumstances can Jughead find out about  _him_."

* * *

Just as first period started, Archie got a text from Cheryl saying that Betty was spotted on campus.

Archie looked towards the opposite side of the classroom where Jughead sat with Veronica and gave them a quick nod. He opened their chat:

**A: Betty made it to school. Cheryl said Toni saw her a few minutes ago—so no need to panic.**

**V: THANK GOD. You can unclench now, Jughead.**

Jughead rolled his eyes at her message and didn't reply. Of course he was relieved. Betty was safe and she was in school, where he could keep an eye on her. Maybe he could even try approaching her again...

He spent most of the period thinking of things he could say to Betty without scaring her away again. But as fate would have it, another roadblock presented itself.

His phone vibrated with an incoming text. It was an unknown number.

_**?: So, the Serpent King has lost his Queen.** _

Jughead stiffened. What?

His phone buzzed again.

_**?: Hello Jughead.** _

Jughead clenched his jaw, but replied.

**J: Who is this?**

_**?: Someone who knows what happened to your precious queen.** _

Jughead sat up straight, now fully invested in this conversation. Up until now, there have been no leads regarding the bombing or Betty's kidnapping and assault...it was all a giant question mark. Jughead replied, trying to sound firm.

**J: If you know what's good for you, I suggest sharing that information.**

_**?: Now why would I do that when I'm having so much fun?** _

_**?: Heard it through the grapevine that Betty doesn't remember you. Must not have been a very good relationship if it wasn't even memorable. Tsk-tsk, what a shame. So easily tossed away.** _

_**?: Or should I say...blown to smithereens? Up in smoke?** _

Jughead was silently seething from his references to the explosion. This son-of-a-bitch had some nerves of steal.

_**?: Got your attention?** _

**J: I'm done talking to you. Have a nice life.**

**_?: Aw shucks. Hurt your feelings, did I? Who knew Jughead Jones was sensitive._ **

Jughead angrily set his phone aside on his desk, trying to ignore it but failing miserably. The anonymous-asshole kept texting.

_**?: Alright, alright, I'll bite. You want some information? I'll give you a free one, but the next one's gonna cost ya.** _

_**?: And I guarantee you'll wanna hear this one, Your Highness.** _

Jughead saw his messages, but didn't reply.  _Don't cave in. Don't do it. Don't indulge this low-life in a conversation,_  he instructed himself.

But the next text sent him reeling.

_**?: Rumor has it, the serpent queen found herself a new king.** _

Jughead bit his cheek so hard he drew blood.  _He's lying_ , he told himself. Betty wouldn't do that. Not his Betty.

But Jesus—just the thought of  _his_   _girlfriend_  with another man had Jughead's blood boiling. Jughead couldn't resist replying.

**J: I call bullshit.**

_**?: He's a hell of a guy, too. Good-looking...Charming... Betty took a liking to him instantly. I must say, the two make quite a pair.** _

_**?: Could this be...TRUE LOVE?** _

Jughead shot out of his seat so fast that his chair tipped over. He ignored his teacher's comments that the bell hadn't rung yet and didn't even meet the concerned eyes of Archie and Veronica. He hurried out the door and headed down the hallway in an angry blur, one specific destination in mind. Unfortunately for Jughead, his phone kept buzzing—and he couldn't resist looking.

_**?: Maybe her accident was a good thing.** _

_**?: Maybe this is what she needed to unleash the REAL Betty. Someone YOU never got to know.** _

Jughead was pissed, but also in stubborn denial.  _This is all lies. Nothing is wrong. Nothing has changed. Betty is fine. Betty is fine._  Jughead made a left, and then a right, nearing his destination.

_**?: Have you seen her yet? She looks a hell of a lot better now than she did when she was with you, Jones. Finer than china...** _

Jughead's heart was racing. He just had to see her. He was waiting impatiently outside her classroom when the bell rang. Student after student filed out and Jughead panicked a little, at first not seeing Betty.

Someone accidentally bumped his shoulder in passing. In his anxious and irate state of mind, he whirled around—fully prepared to tell them off. But all of his anger faded the instant he realized he was face to face with Betty.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, picking up some of her books that fell to the floor in their collision. She finally met his gaze, and her eyes widened. "Oh. It's...you."

Jughead was still shocked. Betty looked so...different. Stunning as always, but different. Her signature ponytail was gone, replaced by beautiful waves that Jughead rarely ever got to see. She dressed so unlike herself; she wore deep red halter top instead of a sweater...a berry red lip instead of a pale pink...

And she looked  _drop-dead gorgeous._

He realized he had been staring instead of speaking and somehow forced himself to utter the single syllable "Yeah..."

"You're that guy. From the hospital," she stated bluntly, lacking any affection in her voice.

There it is again. He was back to being " _that guy._ "

His heart hurt; his pride hurt. Jughead swallowed hard, realizing she still had no idea who he really was. "Yeah...I guess that's me..." he replied quietly.

They stared at each other for a few seconds more before Betty awkwardly started backing away and said, "Okay, well, uh...sorry again. I'll watch where I'm going."

Jughead couldn't move or speak. He stood rooted to the ground, staring after her as she walked away from him. He felt as though she had just walked out of his life.

 _Buzzz buzzzz!_  The vibration from Jughead's phone snapped him back to reality and he pulled out his phone, glaring at the new texts that just came in.

_**?: She's quite the beauty, she is. You should've appreciated her while you had her, Jones.** _

_**?: Would you like a friendly warning of what's to come?** _

Jughead numbly texted back a weak reply.

**J: I don't want anything from you.**

_**?: Toooo bad! I'm telling you whether you like it or not.** _

**_?: By the end of this week, Betty won't ever want to speak to you again. She'll never look your way again. She'll never even think about you. By Friday evening, Betty Cooper will want nothing to do with you...and you'll have lost her completely._ **

Jughead's heart hurt at the mere idea of losing Betty  _forever_.

**J: Why are you telling me this? What do you want from me?**

It took several minutes for the next reply to come in.

_**?: I want you to suffer, Jones...** _

_**?: I want you to bear the burden of knowing that you were warned...and knowing that you are powerless to stop it.** _

_**?: I want you to get it though your thick skull that your 'serpent royalty' is nothing but a trashy title. You're no King.** _

_**?: You think you have power, Jones? Think again.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a jerk! Who do you think our creepy-anon is? Or our serpent-jacket-thief, who's slowly stealing Betty's heart??
> 
> Drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts! :)
> 
> -A


	4. Say It.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES. I am alive. This story is alive. Thank you to everyone who continued to read this story!
> 
> Onwards! With some extra heavy PG-13. I am considering changing the rating to MATURE...if anyone disagrees with this change, speak now or forever hold your peace! ;)

_Previously:_

_?: By the end of this week, Betty won't ever want to speak to you again. She'll never look your way again. She'll never even think about you. By Friday evening, Betty Cooper will want nothing to do with you...and you'll have lost her completely._

_Jughead's heart hurt at the mere idea of losing Betty forever._

_J: Why are you telling me this? What do you want from me?_

_It took several minutes for the next reply to come in._

_?: I want you to suffer, Jones..._

_?: I want you to bear the burden of knowing that you were warned...and knowing that you are powerless to stop it._

_?: I want you to get it though your thick skull that your 'serpent royalty' is nothing but a trashy title. You're no King._

_?: You think you have power, Jones? Think again._

* * *

_[Later that Monday]_

Jughead was nowhere to be seen at lunchtime. Veronica sat with Cheryl, Toni, and Kevin while Archie went searching for him.

"So he just got up and bolted?" Kevin asked incredulously. He took a bite of his lunch, eyes wide with disbelief.

Veronica nodded, absentmindedly dragging her fork through some pasta. "He was texting with someone, though, before he suddenly shot out the door." She shook her head, concerned. "Something's wrong."

"A lot of things are wrong," Cheryl muttered under her breath, too busy on her phone to watch her mouth. Toni subtly kicked her under the table, giving her a pointed look that said  _Remember what we talked about!_ Cheryl sighed, quickly correcting herself with an all-too-cheery voice and plastered a fake smile on her face. "I mean...I'm  _sure_  he'll be okay!"

Just then, Archie appeared out of nowhere and flatly said, "He's  _not_  okay." He ran a hand through his hair in distress and sat next to Veronica. "He won't even talk to me, but I convinced him to come in and get some food." He gestured towards the cafeteria line, where Jughead stood with a tray full of food.

" _Jughead_  needed convincing to eat?" Toni asked with a frown, and Archie nodded. "Wow. He's definitely not okay. That boy lives for food just as much as he lives for—" She saw Jughead approaching and cut herself off before she could say  _Betty_.

Jughead plopped down next to Toni without a word. "You'll feel better with a little food, man," Archie said from across the table. He tried to shoot him a friendly smile, but it just looked more apologetic. Jughead clenched his teeth in annoyance. The last thing he needed was people feeling sorry for him.

So he ate silently, mind replaying the events of this morning—his infuriating conversation with the anonymous texter, and then his encounter with Betty that morning.

As if on cue, Kevin suddenly said " _Shit_ ," dropping his fork on the table with a loud  _clank_. He was staring across the room.

"Kev?" Veronica looked at him, perplexed.

In a more hushed tone, he asked, " _Is that Betty?!"_  Kevin pointed to where he was staring, and the rest of them turned to follow his gaze.

All conversations in the cafeteria seemed to turn into whispers as Betty Cooper walked in, looking fine as all hell. Hair down in waves, black boots with a sexy kitten heel, fitting jeans, and a wine red top complementing her berry colored lips.

"Talk about a wardrobe change," Kevin said.

"Well if you ask me, it's about time that girl ditched those drab sweaters for some style," Cheryl stated bluntly, eyeing Betty's outfit with approval.

"No one asked you, Cheryl," Archie said, his voice laced with warning. Cheryl whirled on him to tell him off, but held her tongue when she saw him silently gesturing to Jughead, as if to say  _He doesn't need your shit right now_. She did feel bad for Jughead, and knew it wasn't the time to push his buttons...especially about Betty.

 _Betty_.

Betty has always been beautiful. Jughead knew that. Archie knew that. Everyone knew that. But there's a difference between beautiful and  _hot_ —and today, Betty Cooper was showing everyone that she could do both.

Archie and Veronica were saying something to Jughead, but he wasn't listening. He was too busy looking at Betty with a mixed expression of longing and pain, unable to take his eyes off her. Unfortunately for him, neither could any other guy in the room. He clenched his jaw tightly and glared daggers at the few who were bold enough to wolf whistle at Betty.

As Betty's eyes scanned the room, he could instantly see a look of regret cross her face from the amount of unwanted attention she was receiving. Part of this unwanted attention included a guy in a black bomber jacket that Jughead didn't recognize. He watched on in silent rage as the strange boy nudged his buddies next to him, before jumping up to approach Betty in the cafeteria line.

The guy smirked, blatantly looking Betty up and down, and leaned in to say something to her. Jughead couldn't hear their exchange from this distance—but from her eye-roll, he gathered it was offensive. Thankfully, Betty hardly spared the guy a glance. She stated something brief while she picked up a tray of food and walked away.

"Who the hell is that?" Jughead asked angrily, gesturing towards the brown-haired boy who  _persistently_  continued to follow Betty.

"I think he's new," Archie said, also annoyed by the scene.

"I don't know, he looks familiar to me…" Cheryl pondered aloud, looking at the boy with a frown. She couldn't place her finger on it, but she definitely recognized him from somewhere.

Jughead narrowed his eyes and harshly shoved his tray of food away when he saw the guy jump in front of Betty to block her path. She tried to side-step him, but he wouldn't budge—he instead placed a hand on her waist and stepped  _real_  close, whispering something in her ear.

Jughead instinctively started to stand, fully prepared to walk up there and remove the guy's hand himself. But Toni was faster; she placed her hand on his shoulder and forcefully sat him down. " _Don't,"_  she hissed quietly.

Appalled, Jughead started to protest. "But he's—"

"Out of bounds. Clearly. But you can't start a scene, Jug," Toni said, looking at him sternly. "Going all 'protective-boyfriend' on this guy isn't going to do anything except scare Betty more, especially when she doesn't remember you…"

Jughead shrugged off her hand in annoyance, but silently agreed with her. He knew Toni was right; the last thing he wanted to do was frighten Betty. So, he remained seated. But as he looked back towards Betty, he was surprised to find her staring right at him. His anger subsided—only for a moment—as his eyes locked with hers.

Jughead knew Betty better than anyone else. He considered himself pretty attuned to Betty's body language, always seeming to know how she felt or what she needed. Simply put, he knew Betty inside and out.

Which is why Jughead was confused when—for the first time ever—he couldn't read her expression. For once, he couldn't tell what she was thinking, or how she was feeling. He searched her eyes for something— _anything_ —that would show she remembered something about him. Her expression was blank.  _Empty_.

Their moment lasted for only a few seconds before it was disrupted by a forceful tug on Betty's waist, making her break eye contact with Jughead.

"Dude..." Jughead suddenly heard Sweet Pea's voice behind him. He glanced back briefly to see him and Fangs approach the table with deep frowns on their faces. Sweet Pea jerked his head towards the guy and Betty. "You wanna do something about this guy, or should we?"

Toni instantly leaned out to punch Sweet Pea in the arm, saying, "Can you  _not_ provoke him?!"

Jughead returned his steely expression to the scene unfolding before him. Toni might be right, but Jughead wasn't thinking too clearly anymore. The longer he watched this guy with his hands on  _his girlfriend_ , the angrier he got. "I'm giving him ten more seconds to remove his hands," he growled in response to Sweet Pea.  _Before I go over there and break them myself,_ he silently added. He saw Toni roll her eyes.

But Betty suddenly looked down, smiled sweetly, and looked back up at the guy holding her waist.  _Oh no…don't buy his crap, Betts_ , Jughead silently pleaded.

He watched in disbelief as she sidled up to this guy, mere inches between them. She said something to him that made him take her tray, and—to Jughead's absolute pleasure—she suddenly took her plate of pasta and  _overturned it_ , all over the guy.

He dropped the entire tray with a loud  _*crash*_ , shouting, "What the hell?!"

"You just strike me as someone who...' _comes'..._ All. By. Himself." Betty said with a suggestive smirk. And with an adorable wink, she left the cafeteria.

Nearby tables burst out in laughter, many shocked by her sexual innuendo. "Did Betty just say what I think she did?" Archie said incredulously.

Cheryl sat back with a proud smirk. "Oh dear cousin," she mused. "Who are you, and what have you done with our innocent Betty Cooper?"

* * *

Betty was already having a very bad day. She was tired of the long stares and hushed whispers that followed her in the halls. It was always, "What's wrong with her?" or "She looks so different," or "I hear she has amnesia," and a whole bunch of "Daaaaammmn, baby!" from a bunch of jocks. She was sick of the pity, sick of the rumors, and sick of the catcalls.

But most of all, she felt embarrassed. Several students had approached her in her first few classes and asked her if she really couldn't remember anything. It was  _annoying_. Her standard answer had been, "I remember certain things, but not others. But I'm doing fine." Insert fake smile here.

By lunchtime, Betty was ready to call it quits and go home. Her patience was already through the roof.

The last thing she needed was this guy hitting on her.

She automatically tensed up when the brown-haired boy approached her in the lunch line.

" _Damn_  baby, where have you been hiding my whole life?"

 _Seriously? A line?_  Betty rolled her eyes. "Far away from you," she shot back instantly, picking up a tray of pasta and walking away. Even with her damaged memory, she could definitely recognize a cheesy pick up line.

"Baby, baby, wait!"

Betty groaned internally at the guy's persistence and continued stalking away; but he was quicker, and stepped around to block her path.  _This guy must be proof that men can exist without brains,_  she thought sourly, trying to move around him. But no luck—he kept stepping in her way.

"You gotta stop running away from me." He flashed a smile and placed a hand on her waist to prevent her from moving. "I'm just tryna get to know you, sweetheart..."  _Gross_. If she wasn't uncomfortable yet, she was now.

Betty was about to tell him off when some movement caught her eye. It was  _that guy_...the one that bumped into her in the hall this morning; the same beanie-wearing guy who was in her hospital room when she woke up _._ She suddenly recalled the weird dream from the other night:

" _My best friend is named Archie," the younger Elizabeth replied. "We have another friend with a funny name. He goes by Jughead. I think it's silly."_

Jughead. Jughead Jones.

Betty watched him with genuine curiosity. He was glaring at a pink-haired girl who had a firm hand on his shoulder. He appeared angry, by the way he shrugged off the girl's hand. But then, his eyes were on her. She didn't miss the way his expression changed—his anger fading in a heartbeat.

 _The way he stared at her..._  It was like he knew her. Like,  _really_  knew her.

Betty held his gaze, not wanting to be the first to break eye contact.  _His eyes are beautiful_ , she thought. She bit her lip as an involuntary shudder ran down her spine. His gaze almost felt familiar to her, yet she wasn't sure why. She was  _certain_  she wasn't friends with him; she couldn't be.

Right?

A sharp tug jolted Betty from her thoughts and she looked up in annoyance at the guy who was still holding her waist. She realized she had accidentally tuned him out. "...back to my place, show you a good time," he was saying with a smirk. "So, what do you say? Wanna  _come_  with me?"

Betty instantly understood his sexual innuendo, inwardly cringing at his emphasis on ' _come'_.

But instead of getting angry, she decided to play along. Betty plastered on the fakest smile she could and stepped up real close, making his smirk falter. "Will you hold this for me?" she asked innocently, changing the topic. "Please?" she added. Betty glanced down at her tray and then looked back up at him in a way she hoped was cute.

Her change in attitude and their sudden proximity clearly threw him off. The guy swallowed hard and stuttered, "Uh—um—yeah, sure, I guess…"

She smiled brighter, handing him her lunch tray. "Thanks," she said cheerily. Then, without warning, she picked up her plate of pasta and dumped it  _all over_  him.

He dropped everything, shouting "What the hell?!" and looked at her through the pasta noodles hanging off his face.

Betty bit back a laugh, stepping back to admire the bolognese sauce dripping down his shirt. "You just strike me as someone who...' _comes_ '... All. By. Himself," Betty enunciated slowly, adding a mischievous smirk. She placed extra emphasis on the word "come," throwing his own sexual innuendo back in his face. She winked at his frustrated expression and left without another word, leaving behind a cafeteria howling with laughter.

Satisfaction never felt  _so_  good.

* * *

Her little lunchtime show left Betty with a brief adrenaline rush. Feeling rebellious, she decided to bail on her last class of the day and explore the school grounds instead, motivated to find  _anything_  that helped her remember who she was.

In one of the hallways, Betty came across a glass showcase displaying trophies and photos of Riverdale High's sports teams.  _Was she an athlete?_  she wondered, searching the teams; but she quickly dismissed the idea when she struggled to find herself.  _Maybe she wasn't an athlete,_  she thought disappointedly. Betty was about to leave when someone on the football team caught her eyes. She recognized the redhead from next door, Archie Andrews.

But it wasn't Archie that triggered something...it was the guy next to him.

 _Chuck Clayton!_  she suddenly remembered. Betty felt a surge of excitement and pride; she  _finally_  remembered something on her own!

But she paused to humble herself when she couldn't remember  _why_  she knew Chuck Clayton. Frowning, she looked at his picture again. Did they date? He was definitely attractive; she could see herself dating him.

Unable to come up with a solid reason, she started a mental checklist of things she needed to do:

_1:  Talk to Chuck Clayton._

She was ready to continue her stroll through the high school when a picture next to the football team grabbed her attention: a group of girls. "The River Vixens..." Betty read aloud. Her eyes widened in shock when she spotted herself among the cheerleaders. In the photo, she was standing opposite of a raven-haired girl, while one of the other Vixens with long red hair was posing dead center.

"A  _cheerleader_?" she mumbled to herself, baffled. "No fucking way..."

" _Betty?_ "

Taken by surprise, Betty whirled around to face the new voice. The same raven-haired Vixen from the photo had appeared in the hallway a few doors down. Betty straightened her posture and tilted her head curiously. "Hi…" she said hesitantly.

"You look amazing!  _Love_  the outfit change!" the girl said with a smile, coming to stand next to Betty. She moved forward to hug her, but Betty responded with a huge step back.

"Whoa, sorry, um—" Betty frowned as she looked at this girl, trying really hard to register a name; but to her frustration, her mind was drawing blanks. "Do I know you?" Betty finally asked.

"Oh...I was really hoping you'd remember me." The girl smiled sadly. "I'm Veronica. I followed you home from the hospital yesterday." Oh, right.  _That_ , she remembered. She came with the other two boys, Archie and Jughead.

"Okay?" Betty looked at her questioningly, not knowing what else to say. So far, she wasn't impressed.

Veronica fiddled with her hands awkwardly. "I'm—well, I'm sort of of your best friend."

Betty raised both eyebrows in surprise.  _Best friend?_  Surely she would recognize her 'best friend'. She eyed Veronica up and down, noting the Jimmy Choo heels, designer dress, and expensive pearl necklace.  _Clearly rich. Definitely spoiled,_ she decided bitterly. The complete opposite of Betty. "Are you sure?" she asked, forcing a dry laugh to relieve some of the awkwardness.

"Of course!" Veronica exclaimed. "We're B & V! You know—" She motioned heavily between the two of them. "You're B...I'm V…" But she trailed off, face falling when she noticed Betty's lack of excitement. "Wow, you really don't remember me."

Betty paused to consider several thoughts flying through her mind. A picture was starting to form of this rich girl, Veronica. "I mean, no offense, but think I know your type—and it's not me."

Veronica visibly flinched. "What do you mean, 'my type?'"

 _Rich. Spoiled. Daddy's girl,_ she thought automatically. Everything Betty wasn't.

But then, something strange started to happen to Betty. The longer she studied Veronica, the more she began to remember—and it wasn't good memories. "Actually... _fuck_ , I think I do remember you." Betty cursed when a familiar pain hit her head, along with bits of a conversation that started to resurface in her mind. "And I don't think I liked you very much."

"W-What?" Veronica stuttered, looking at Betty with wide, hurt eyes.

But Betty kept a cool exterior, despite the turmoil she felt inside. A foreign feeling had started to bubble up in her chest—a strange mix of pain, anger, and anxiety. "I mean...this 'nice girl' exterior—it's just a charade, isn't it?" Betty challenged. Anger started to override the other emotions as she remembered more. "It's just an act, right?"

Veronica stared at her in shock, but said nothing. So Betty went on, the next words tumbling out of her mouth automatically as if she were reciting the memory that was playing so clearly through her mind at that very moment. "You just try to distract everyone from the fact that there's nothing going on underneath…"

 

> " _Betty, what the hell are you saying?"_
> 
> _It was Archie who was questioning her. Betty looked around; she was in the middle of some sort of kickback, surrounded by several faces she didn't recognize. Betty could feel that she was hurt and angry, but continued to go off on Veronica._
> 
> " _She's_ not  _our friend!" Betty was saying. "The minute someone from her trashy past shows up, she starts using us for drugs or music or distraction—and why should we be surprised?" Betty looked at Veronica with disappointment. "Like father, like daughter...right?"_
> 
> _Veronica glared back at Betty angrily. "You better shut it down, Betty."_
> 
> " _Or what, Veronica? You'll have your dad put a hit on me? Or maybe you'll do it yourself?" Betty moved forward slowly. Daringly. "You may have fooled everyone else, but_ _not me.._."

Although the memory had faded, words spoken still lingered. "Try to reform all you want," Betty repeated from her memory, "but you're a bad person, Veronica. You'll always be a bad person."

Veronica looked at Betty with tears forming in her eyes. "So that's it then?  _That's_  how you remember me—as that monster?"

Betty looked at this girl who claimed to be her best friend, but couldn't find a way to believe her. "Is it not true? Are you not that person?" Betty asked.

Veronica blinked back her tears and looked away, crossing her arms defensively but not arguing.

"That's what I thought," Betty said quietly. She knew Veronica wouldn't challenge her. She didn't just make that memory up—it  _actually_  happened. It was  _real_. And that meant Veronica really  _was_  a bad person. So Betty knew she couldn't trust her, let alone believe they were friends in any sort of way.

 _Don't listen to her. She's not your friend. She's just some entitled rich bitch who is trying to manipulate you_. Angry thoughts suddenly rang in Betty's head as she turned and began to stalk away.

"Betty, wait!" Veronica finally called out, but it was too late. Betty continued to storm off in the other direction.

Familiar words repeated in her head like a mantra:

_I won't be manipulated. I won't trust her._

_I won't_.

_I won't._

_I won't._

* * *

"I don't know, TT, I'm pretty impressed with the new Betty."

Cheryl and Toni were chatting in the Serpents' usual classroom during their free period, waiting on Fangs and Sweet Pea to show up. The girls had asked the two boys to do some recon on the missing serpent jacket. They didn't, however, reveal their true intentions—which was finding out how  _he_  got one of their jackets, and what the hell  _he_  was doing with Betty.

Toni looked at Cheryl pointedly. "'New Betty" is not the real Betty, Cher."

"Maybe." Inspecting her bright red nails, she replied, "Or maybe it is. Maybe this sassy little minx has been there all along, hiding underneath all those awful sweaters." Cheryl's eyes glinted with excitement at the possibility of her cousin turning a bold new leaf. At Toni's amused expression, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine; I know things need to change. Before Jughead blows his top. Did you see him at lunch today?"

"I haven't seen him that pissed since the day he carved up Penny Peabody."

The girls looked up at Sweet Pea's voice, seeing him walk in with Fangs. They noted that both boys had their leather on.

They shut the classroom door before getting settled. "So what's with the secret recon mission, ladies—and why aren't we telling Jones?" Fangs asked.

Cheryl ignored Fangs' questions about Jughead. "First, you tell us what you found out,  _then_  we'll tell you why."

Fangs looked at Sweet Pea who just shrugged. "Well, we asked around like you said...but no one's missing their jacket," Sweet Pea said, causing Toni to look tense and Cheryl to huff in annoyance. He narrowed his eyes and glanced between the two. "You two are hiding something—what's going on?"

Toni shared an uncomfortable glance with Cheryl before replying, with carefully chosen words. "If what you say is true...then we have reason to believe a Serpent has broken one of the bylaws _."_

"Which one?" Fangs asked, puzzled.

"'A Snake never sheds its skin,'" Toni recited. This obviously wasn't literal; but the point of this law was to keep their "skins" close. Safe, at least. For it to end up in the wrong hands was a clear violation of Serpent law.

Fangs just looked more confused. "And why would you think that?"

Cheryl sighed. "Just show 'em, TT."

" _Cheryl!_ " Toni hissed, turning on her girlfriend in shock. " _We_ _agreed_."

"Well!" Cheryl threw her hands up in exasperation. "It's the only way to explain it! You and I can't solve everything—we aren't the investigative duo, Toni."  _Right. Jughead and Betty were_.

"'No serpent stands alone'...right?" Sweet Pea reminded Toni, quoting another serpent law. "Whatever it is, we got your back. Just tell us what's going on."

Toni silently weighed the options in her head, but reluctantly agreed. "Fine," she said, reaching into her backpack for her camera. Toni then looked hard between the boys. "I'll show you—but you  _cannot_ tell Jughead. Is that understood?"

Both boys nodded firmly.

Toni grimaced, and hesitantly handed them her camera. "I saw Betty this morning...with  _him_."

The images on her viewfinder shocked both boys into silence. After a few moments, Sweet Pea growled angrily, looking at the camera with disgust. " _Hell_   _fucking no_ , man. What the fuck is  _he_  doing?"

Fangs was still stunned. He grabbed the camera out of Sweet Pea's hands. He flipped through several shots, muttering a slow and quiet, " _Holy_... _fuck_ …"

"And touching  _Betty_?" Sweet Pea angrily gripped the desk in front of him.

"Jughead's gonna kill him," Fangs stated matter-of-factly. "He's actually going to  _kill him dead_."

* * *

Betty was spiraling after her encounter with Veronica. She sat in the bleachers after school, alone and miserable. That  _strange_  feeling she had while she was talking to Veronica—that mix of pain and anxiety—hadn't gone away. It had actually grown, and brought with it small bursts of pain in random parts of her body—her cheeks, her shoulders, her arms.

 _Seriously,_ she thought,  _what the fuck is this—PTSD?_ If it was PTSD, it was really fucking unfair that her  _body_  remembered the pain while her  _mind_  forgot the actual trauma she'd been through.

Her predicament really  _sucked_.

Betty hugged her body tightly as a single tear ran down her cheek. She willed so hard for the pain and emotions to go away.

What the hell was wrong with her?

"Mi bella!"

Her head snapped up to acknowledge the familiar voice. At the bottom of the bleachers was  _him,_ donned in black leather.

Betty chewed her lip, suddenly nervous that he was seeing her so vulnerable. "What are you doing here—how did you find me?"

He climbed the stairs to Betty, peering down at her through his black curls. Flashing her a charming smile, he replied, "Oh, Betty...I will  _always_  find you. You should remember that by now."

 _I will always find you._  That sounded oddly familiar...

"Why are you crying, love?" He asked, as she stood with a long sigh. "Did someone upset you?"

"It's nothing," Betty said stubbornly, wanting desperately to brush off the topic. Diving into her deep troubles wasn't exactly appealing.

"C'mon,  _bella_. You know you can tell me anything."

"Yeah...okay," Betty agreed meekly, beginning to recount her conversation with Veronica. She told him everything—including her memory and the way she remembered Veronica to be.

By the end of her story, he was frowning at her and shaking his head. "I remember that party. I tried to stop you from going, but...you wouldn't listen."

Betty looked at him with wide eyes. "You did? What happened?"

"Well...it was exactly how you remembered it. You finally exposed that dirty Lodge for what she really is..." He reached out to stroke her cheek, cradling her face in a way that forced her to look into his eyes. "A lying, manipulative bitch—right  _mi amor_?"

Betty automatically mumbled "Yeah," but wasn't really listening anymore. She was absorbed in his  _eyes_. They were absolutely captivating—and slightly...what was it? Dangerous? Wild?

As she searched his dark brown eyes, her brain chose that exact moment to randomly flash back to her eventful lunch period, when her eyes had locked with Jughead's.

She tried to remember what color they were—blue? Green? Whatever they were, she remembered they had looked beautiful. Light. Soft.

 _So different from his_ , Betty thought, looking into the mysterious pair of dark eyes.

Two sets of eyes. Both totally different. Yet, both  _so_  fucking familiar to Betty.

She added two things to her mental checklist:

_1: Talk to Chuck Clayton._

_2: Figure out who HE is._

_3: Find out how she knows Jughead Jones._

Betty decided now was as good a time as any to start with number two.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, looking up at him shyly.

He released his hold on her face to tuck some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Anything."

"What's your name?"

He chuckled deeply and reached out to grab her waist tightly. "Oh,  _bella_ , you don't remember me?"

"No! No, I do...sort of…" she admitted. Their proximity made her blush, and her thoughts were starting to jumble.  _He's really fucking close_ , she thought.  _Is he supposed to be this close?_   _Is he supposed to be touching her?_  She was so confused. All she wanted to do was remember his name.

"Maybe you just need a little reminder…" he said, dipping his head low to nuzzle her neck. She bit her lip, mind going haywire.  _Did she like this? Was she supposed to be liking this?_

It felt like her brain and body were at war. Her mind was screaming  _YES!_  But her body was tense, holding her back. Involuntarily cautious. Careful. Calculating.

He boldly snuck a kiss on the side her neck, and she gasped, causing him to growl and grip her waist tighter. "Say it, Betty," he suddenly demanded, kissing her neck again.

 _Say what?_  Her mind was fuzzy. She probably would've forgotten her own name if he hadn't just said it.

"Say my name…"

His tongue started licking small circles on her neck as he sucked on her pulse point. " _Betty_ …" he warned lowly, teeth scraping her skin lightly. "You know it, I know you do."

 _Fuck you,_ she thought. Betty was getting too hot and bothered right now to think of a damn name. He moved to suck on a different pulse point, and she cursed under her breath.  _Was this actually turning her on?_

" _Bella_ …" he warned again. He sucked harder, causing her to yelp out in pain. " _Say. My. Name."_

And that was it—it finally hit her. In the midst of the pain, she remembered his name. As the name rolled off her tongue, she felt a twinge of something—guilt?—as if what she was doing was wrong.

But the way he leaned back to praise her (or maybe praise the marks he left on her neck) made her believe that this was normal.

And Betty was desperate for a little normal right now.

* * *

"She just...she just  _snapped_ , Archie!"

After her encounter with Betty, Veronica texted Archie and Jughead to meet up after school. They were in the Blue and Gold, waiting for Jughead.

Veronica was describing her conversation with Betty. "I tried telling her that we were best friends, and she outright refused to believe it; she jumped straight into denial." Veronica looked down as she recalled the stone cold glare Betty had given her. "And the way she was looking at me...it was just so..."

"Empty?" Jughead entered the room and shut the door. He came to stand by Veronica and Archie. "Yeah I know. I noticed."

"Did you talk to her too?" Archie asked.

"Sort of…" Jughead grimaced, remembering running into her in the hallway after first period. Her words still rang clearly in his head: ' _You're that guy!'_  Ouch.

Archie just looked at him. "And?" he pressed.

Jughead sighed. "She had  _no_  idea who I was." Admitting those words out loud made him uncomfortable. It sounded so  _wrong_.

"She's not herself, Jughead." Veronica looked at Jughead, pain evident in her eyes as she spoke. Man, could he relate. "She's always so levelheaded and calm. I mean—the only time she's  _ever_  snapped at me was..." she trailed off and froze, eyes widening in realization.

"Ronnie?" Archie touched her shoulder gently with concern.

But Veronica began to pace nervously, muttering "Oh my god" repeatedly under her breath.

"You're doing  _wonders_  to my nerves right now," Jughead said sarcastically, annoyed by her sudden panic. "Care to finish your thought?"

"I  _knew_  it sounded familiar. I'm such an idiot—I can't believe I didn't remember sooner!" Veronica stopped pacing and massaged her temples.

"Remember  _what_?"

She turned to Archie. "Do you remember Nick St. Claire's party?"

Archie instinctively clenched his fists and glared angrily. "I would rather  _not_ —but yeah, I remember that asshole. Why?"

Jughead was completely confused. "Wait, party? What party?" Why didn't he remember this?

Archie's face scrunched up distastefully, recalling the event. "Nick St. Claire had a little kickback when he rolled into town. It was when Betty broke up with you, so you weren't exactly invited...sorry bro."

Jughead briefly scowled at the mention of their breakup, but otherwise maintained a relatively stoic exterior. "Okay...so what happened?"

"Remember how the Black Hood told Betty to cut us all out of her life? Well,  _that's_  when Betty went off on me," Veronica explained.

"Oh shit, yeah." Archie ran a stressed hand through his hair. "I was shocked that Betty had it in her."

"She said these awful things about me, painting me as a monster."

Jughead frowned, struggling to imagine Betty being so ruthlessly cold. "Okay, but that wasn't really Betty. You said it yourself, the Black Hood was making her do that. So how exactly is this relevant?"

"Because Betty said the  _exact_  same things to me, just now!"

Jughead shook his head, thoroughly confused. "Wait—what do you mean?"

"I mean, she literally used the  _exact. Same. Words_." Veronica clapped her hands for emphasis.

"Wha— _how_  can she even remember that?" Archie argued. "That was so long ago."

"Well,  _I_  certainly remember it all!" Veronica fired back, crossing her arms defiantly. And if she could, then it's not surprising that Betty could too. "Everything she was saying was so strangely familiar, and in the moment I couldn't remember why. But everything she said about me—being some spoiled, rich girl, and not being a real friend—she said it all the  _exact_   _same way._ " Veronica took in a long breath, still upset from having her best friend snap. "Like, she was  _word for word_  exact. It was weird—like she had it ingrained into her memory."

"Exactly?" Archie asked again.

"Word. For. Word," Veronica emphasized sternly.

"That's a little...strange. And you're saying she couldn't remember anything else?"

"Exactly!" Veronica exclaimed. "I told her I was her best friend, and she had no clue what I was saying. It's like the only thing she could remember was how  _horrible_  she thought I was…"

After a few seconds of silence, she sighed in frustration and turned to Jughead, who had been silently brooding. "You've been simmering for way too long, Jones. Spill it."

He frowned deeply, still trying to piece it all together. Things didn't add up. "I just don't get it. How does someone who has  _amnesia_  remember an entire conversation with you—and recite it  _word for word_?" He looked at Veronica with a hard gaze. "You're positive she said the same exact thing?"

Veronica threw her hands up furiously. " _Yes_ , Jughead! A thousand percent,  _yes_. Word-for-fucking-word, how many times do I need to explain this to the both of you?" she asked, looking annoyed at both boys.

"That's my point—" Jughead began slowly pacing. "You  _can't_  have amnesia and remember an entire damn conversation  _word-for-fucking-word_."

"What are you getting at, Jughead?" Archie asked, looking at him curiously. They could practically see the wheels spinning in his head.

"It's just… the fact that she was able to recall an entire conversation makes me wonder—maybe we can do it again?" Jughead was thinking out loud at this point. "Maybe we can force her to remember something else?"

"I literally called us 'B and V' —" Veronica rolled her eyes. "And she straight up told me she didn't like me. At all."

 _Whoa. Ouch._  Jughead cringed. "Okay, yeah, that sucks," he admitted. "But we can't give up on her."

"Of course not," Veronica stated firmly, and Archie nodded along. Their commitment to Betty gave Jughead a little extra hope.

"Maybe 'B and V' just wasn't enough of a trigger…" he continued. They needed something more meaningful. "Maybe you need to try something deeper?"

"Well, her hate for me seemed to run pretty deep," Veronica muttered sarcastically.

They stood in sad silence, none of them knowing how to move forward. What could they possibly say to Betty to get her to remember?

After a few moments, Archie spoke up. "Well, out of the three of us, I'm the only one who hasn't tried talking to her yet. Maybe she'll recognize me."

Veronica wrung her hands nervously. "Just be prepared, Archiekins. It's not the Betty we're used to. It was  _literally_  like talking to a stranger. A stranger with a lot of pent-up anger."

Jughead's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to find more messages from his new anonymous BFF.

_**?: Come on, Jones, don't start leaving me on 'read'. The fun's just about to start!** _

_**?: You're absolutely gonna LOVE what I have planned for Betty.** _

_**?: (And by love, I mean hate.)** _

_What the hell is his obsession with her?!_ This guy was constantly trying to get under his skin, and it was working.

**J: Stop fucking around with Betty and leave her the hell alone.**

_Asshole._  Jughead took a deep breath to calm down, setting his phone on the desk next to him.

"...and no offense Ronnie," he heard Archie saying, "but Betty and I have basically been best friends since we were born. That's  _years and years_  of memories."

"What are you implying?" Veronica asked incredulously, slightly offended. "That  _you_  have a better relationship with Betty than  _me?_ Her  _best_ girlfriend _?_  Or Jughead—" She gestured to him. "—her  _boyfriend?"_

Archie waved his hands up in surrender. "No, no, I'm sorry—that's  _not_  what I'm trying to say." He placed a hand on Veronica's, and she recomposed herself. "I'm just saying that I've known her the longest, so maybe I have a better chance at getting through to her…"

Jughead's phone buzzed again. He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep, bothered breath. He knew he shouldn't, but he  _had_  to look.

_**?: Oh, I'm not fucking Betty.** _

_**?: YET.** _

Boy, if Jughead wasn't pissed off, he was now. He didn't need to think twice about his threat.

**J: You touch a single hair on her head and I will be hunting you down til the day I die.**

"Jughead?" He looked up to see Archie looking at him strangely. "You okay, man?"

"I'm fine," he grinded out, just as the next  _BUZZZ!_ sucked him right back into his phone.

_**?: Aw, Jonesy, I'm flattered you would dedicate the rest of your life to me!** _

_**?: But you see, I can do whatever I want. And I WILL do whatever I want.** _

_**?: Wanna know why?** _

Veronica suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "So what do you think, Jughead?" she asked.

Irritated, he glanced at his two friends. "Of what?" Jughead was angry and distracted, and had been totally unaware of their conversation.

"Talking to Betty," Archie replied. "I could go over tonight and see if Mrs. Cooper will let me talk to her."

Jughead's phone now buzzed rapidly with an incoming phone call. Veronica sighed in annoyance, and turned to him with crossed arms. "Okay, Jughead, who the hell are you talking to?"

 _I wish I knew,_  he thought bitterly, reading "UNKNOWN" on his caller ID. "Really—no one important. I'll be right back," he told them, stepping out to take the call.

"Listen here, asshole," he growled into the phone. "It's only a matter of time before I track you down and kick your ass myself—"

" _Shut your mouth, boy."_

Jughead almost dropped his phone.  _What the fuck?_ "Dad?" he asked, confused. He glanced back at his screen, confirming the "UNKNOWN" caller ID. "Dad, what the hell—what phone are you using?"

Several seconds of heavy breathing filled the line. " _I have a message for you."_ FP spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were reading the words.

Jughead frowned, recognizing instantly how off his dad's voice sounded. It was hoarse and weak—very unlike FP. Something was wrong. "Dad…" he tried again, "What's going on? Where are you?"

There was a long pause before FP finally spoke. In a slow and strained voice, he muttered eerily, " _Daddy's safe…for now."_

_Oh, God…_

Jughead shut his eyes tightly, leaning into the wall for support. He realized  _exactly_  what was happening—he just didn't want to believe it.

" _Here's what's going to happen,"_  his dad continued.

" _You're going to let things run their course with Betty."_

" _Otherwise…daddy's gonna get hurt_."

"Fuck you," Jughead whispered angrily—not to his dad, but to the anonymous bastard he knew was forcing his dad to say these things.

This was a whole new level of fuckery for Jughead. Being threatened was pretty normal for a Serpent. But being threatened by someone—via his  _dad_? He was pissed, scared, and heartbroken, all at the same time.

" _You don't want daddy to get hurt, do you Jughead?"_ He couldn't reply even if he wanted to. Hearing these horrible things come out of his dad's mouth—it was seriously fucking up his mind.

" _Consider yourself warned."_

The line went dead with a  _click_  just as Jughead's phone buzzed with a new text. It was a horrifying photo, with the caption  _ **Make Daddy proud!**_

Shaking with anger, he slammed a fist into the nearby lockers loudly. He winced, but welcomed the pain. It reminded him that  _yes_ —this was real.  _This was happening_.

"Jug?" Archie and Veronica came barreling into the hall just as Jughead sank to the floor, a look of dread on his face. "Jughead, what's wrong? Who was that on the phone?" Archie asked, concerned.

Jughead handed his phone over wordlessly, showing them the photo that just came in. Veronica audibly gasped at the sight of FP, bound and gagged to a chair. His clothes were tattered and the bloodied cuts on his face show that he was recently beaten.

With his head buried in his hands, Jughead said quietly, " _Someone has my dad."_

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S/O to user "dsvridiculousfangirl" for the best goddamn review I've ever gotten!! EXCELLENT guesses on who Betty's new fake-lover is... any other guesses?
> 
> Guess now, because I will be revealing him NEXT CHAPTER!
> 
> I thrive off of your comments, so please leave them below!  
> xoxo - A
> 
> // Q: Do you have a favorite (or important) scene you think Betty should remember?  //


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